GrassPlot - a database of multi-scale plant diversity in Palaearctic grasslands

GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (releves) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots of eight standard grain sizes (0.0001; 0.001;... 1,000 m(2)) and on nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes. The usage of GrassPlot is regulated through Bylaws that intend to balance the interests of data contributors and data users. The current version (v. 1.00) contains data for approximately 170,000 plots of different sizes and 2,800 nested-plot series. The key components are richness data and metadata. However, most included datasets also encompass compositional data. About 14,000 plots have near-complete records of terricolous bryophytes and lichens in addition to vascular plants. At present, GrassPlot contains data from 36 countries throughout the Palaearctic, spread across elevational gradients and major grassland types. GrassPlot with its multi-scale and multi-taxon focus complements the larger international vegetationplot databases, such as the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and the global database " sPlot". Its main aim is to facilitate studies on the scale-and taxon-dependency of biodiversity patterns and drivers along macroecological gradients. GrassPlot is a dynamic database and will expand through new data collection coordinated by the elected Governing Board. We invite researchers with suitable data to join GrassPlot. Researchers with project ideas addressable with GrassPlot data are welcome to submit proposals to the Governing Board

Internationalization of SMEs and Organizational Factors in Emerging Economies: High –Tech Industry of Iran

SMEs as an engine of growth play an important role in emerging economies for poverty reduction, the role which has attracted the attention of scholars in recent years. This study explores the effect of firm characteristics, resources and top management team (TMT) characteristics on the internationalization of SMEs. According to our conceptual model, we assumed that firm resources mediate the link between international performance of SMEs and characteristics of firms and of TMT. To test our model, we asked top managers of international SMEs in Iran ICT sector to fill in a questionnaire. The data was analyzed through structural equation modeling which leads us to codifying a causal model accordingly. The findings show a direct and indirect positive effect of TMT characteristics on internationalization of SMEs, however, it indicates that indirect effect of firm characteristics is not significant. Finally, a set of guidelines are proposed for internationalization of SMEs in emerging economies